The present invention relates generally to animal handling apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly provides a uniquely constructed and operative animal restraining table used in the grooming and bathing of small pet animals such as cats.
It is well known in the animal grooming industry that small pets, particularly cats, tend in many instances to violently resist efforts to groom and bathe them. This feline aversion to being groomed and bathed has led to the common practice of using two or more assitants to hold the cat down, on a table or the like, while the groomer attends to bathing the cat and/or clipping its fur. To protect themselves from the teeth and claws of the cat, the assistants must wear heavy leather gloves and must periodically reposition the struggling cat on the table to provide the groomer with access to all portions of the cat's body.
Alternatively, the assistants may simply strap the cat down on the table. However, it is still necessary to reposition the cat on the table after one portion of its body has been groomed or bathed. This requires that the cat be untied, shifted on the table, and then tied down again in its shifted position.
This conventional necessity of firmly holding and periodically shifting the cat is a laborious task which often frays the nerves of both the cat and its handlers, and can lead to injuries to the cat and/or its handlers. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide improved animal restraining apparatus which eliminates or minimizes above-mentioned and other problems associated with the grooming and bathing of cats or other small pets.